The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145:9
The Breckenridge Fine Art Center in Breckenridge, Texas is sponsoring a “husband & wife” exhibit featuring Donna’s Photography and my works in Oil, Pastel and Charcoal. The exhibit is titled Shutters and Strokes! Donna and I love to hit the backroads of Texas and the South, where she shoots many photos and I collect reference material for future paintings. Whether in a canoe, a car or walking a trail, we love to see the People, Animals and Landscapes God has made. Psalm 19 begins with this message:
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. Psalm 19:1-4
We are truly blessed to be a part of this show. The show hangs the entire month of August 2023 through September 30, 2023, with an artist’s reception on September 9th, 2:00 p.m. til 4:00 p.m. If you are up for a “mini” road trip, stop by the Breckenridge Fine Art Center and check out the exhibit. The Center also has two very interesting permanent exhibits: Festival Dresses of Texas and the Kathryn Leach Doll collection.
Donna and I are truly amazed at this opportunity to exhibit together the “work of our hands”. Work that we hope will point to the Creator. If you knew the road that we traveled in our early days, you might be amazed too! Not at all because of us, but because of the grace, kindness, and goodness of God.
The older I get and the more I see, the more I am amazed at the goodness of God. I understand that sometimes life does not seem so good. But God is good, and His goodness never ceases. David said this in Psalm 27: 13-14-
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.
How true, solid, and unchangeable God’s Word is. He has allowed us to see His goodness in the land of the living.
But our lives together did not start out that way. Donna and I met in the mid 1970’s. Everything that had been sown in the 60’s was bearing fruit. The 1970’s brought more of the same, and my life was “marked” by the turbulence that foolishness and rebellion against God bring. Struggling to make sense of the hypocrisy and madness in the world, I begin to descend into the abyss of drug and alcohol abuse, which lead to dishonoring God in many other ways. Donna and I met during those years.
The “play” of our life began on that stage, and it was certainly destined for failure, except for the grace of the God who loved us more then we loved ourselves. He brought us to Christ, where all the sins of our past were forgiven. Psalm 103:12 says:
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
That will do… the east never meets the west. They are forever separated. Once our hearts were changed by His blood, we begin a new journey. And, through much blood, sweat, and tears God has shown us the power of the miracle of salvation through Christ as well as what a marriage can be, when all is laid at the foot of the cross of Christ.
September 2023 marks 46 years since we first said “I do” in a little ceremony in east Tennessee. Our journey has only been possible by His grace, and for that we are very grateful for His goodness.
Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3
